Resistance
by sas.90
Summary: When Paige is asked to be a bridesmaid at her cousin's wedding, she decides to hire a date. And this man turns out to be the person she least expected to ever see again.
1. Chapter 1

**Plot**: Loosely based on "The Wedding Date".

**Summary**: When Paige is asked to be a bridesmaid at her cousin's wedding, she decides to hire a date. This man turns out to be the person she least expected to ever see again.

**Rating**: T, might turn into M later on. I'll let you know.

I'm not entirely thrilled with the beginning, in fact my favourite chapter at the moment is number 5. But I hope it's good enough (:

**Resistance.**

A sigh escaped her lips when she finally arrived at her seat.

14C.

A quick glance at her ticket informed her that this was indeed hers. She heard a heavy sigh behind her and turrned to find that a line of people was slowly beginning to form behind her. The man right behind her seemed to be impatient because he fixed her with a cold glare. Deciding to be nice in stead of telling him to keep his pants on, she shot him an apology and stuffed her leather handbag into the overhead compartment before sinking into her chair. The ones next to her were still empty and she was secretly hoping that someone nice would sit down on 14A, and especially 14B. Because she wasn't just going on this trip alone. 14B was supposed to be her handsome blind date.

And he had yet to arrive.

Eight weeks earlier she had received the invitation to her cousin's wedding which had started all this. Of course, she'd said she wouldn't go, because she didn't have a date. This was her dad's side of the family. The Matthews side. Exactly the kind that would remind her – non stop – that she hadn't brought any male company. And that would keep asking why not. Especially as she was supposed to be a bridesmaid.

Much to her surprise, though, Piper had been the one to suggest she'd hire someone to be her date. At first the brunette had been shocked, but if she thought about it, it really wasn't all that wrong. After all, it would be strictly business.

And so now she was waiting, after three weeks of emailing back and forth, planning everything into the smallest detail. What his job would be, how they'd met, how long they'd been together, etcetera. She could feel herself starting to get more anxious with every second that passed and her hazel eyes scanned the people slowly boarding the plane. Every time a man made eye contact with her she felt her heart flutter a little, but none of these men seemed to be sitting next to her.

"Excuse me, dear." She looked up to find an elderly woman in a lilac dress and matching hat looking at her. Her wrinkled hands clutched a ticket and a bag.

"14A is my seat, could you give me a hand please?" The woman asked with a frienly smile. Her voice reminded her of her grandmother.

"Sure, here let me." The brunette got to her feet and took the woman's bag.

"Thank you, dear." While the woman squeezed herself into her seat, Paige pushed herself onto tiptoes to be able to reach the overhead compartment once more.

"Need any help, 14C?" The brunette looked up and nearly dropped the bag at the sight of who was standing behind her. It seemed that she wasn't the only one who was surprised, because the man's jaw dropped upon seeing her face.

"Cole, what the hell are you doing here?" She closed the compartment, perhaps a little too hard, and turned to face him, her arms folded.

"14B." Was all he could say as he hoped, no prayed, that she wasn't actually 14C. The woman he'd be accompying to a wedding down in Miami.

"Oh no you're not. Step back, I'm getting off the plane."

"Paige.."

"No." Again she reached up to retrieve her bag, but someone touched her shoulder and she swiveled round to see whoever it was.

"What?" Her expression somewhat softened when she saw a handsome steward standing in front of her.

"Excuse me, Miss, but you're going to have to sit down. We're about to take off." The steward told her gently. A pair of deep brown eyes made it impossible for her to argue and she was sure the airline had hired him for them and the effect they had on people.

"But.." She sighed and glanced at Cole who'd already taken his seat. He offered her an innocent smile and she gave an eye roll that would've made her sisters proud.

"Fine."

The cushions wooshed underneath her as she sat down and clicked her seatbelt shut as the lights above her instructed. No smoking. Seatbelts fastened. Next to her Cole spend a few seconds adjusting the little fans overhead, giving him a good excuse not to speak. Until the silence became too awkward.

"Look, when we get to Miami, you just give me my money and I'll go back home so you can go on your own. You're right. You should go alone in stead of with me, I couldn't stand to be around you for that long anyway." He retrieved a magazine from his bag and opened it somewhere in the middle where he'd apparently left of. Meanwhile he ignored her when she shifted in her seat to look at him, her eyes blazing fury.

"Cole, I'm not paying you for not doing anything. I'll pay you for the flight back, that's it. You find another woman to do... whatever with." By now she was beginning to flail her hands.

"I'm not paying you." Her finger poked at his chest and he lowered the magazine, raising his hands in mock surrender.

"All right, jeez, Paige. Relax. You're gonna poke an eye out. Keep your hands to yourself. We'll work something out. Stop pretending this is all my fault and sit -" He trailed off when the pilot's voice came on the speakers, informing them that they were ready to take off. Seconds later the plane started to move and the pilot was introducing himself, informing them of the weather and the estimated time of arrival.

With a final sigh, Paige settled back down and grabbed the aircraft safety card from the pouch of the seat in front of her. As her eyes scanned the illustrations, two stewardesses started to demonstrate the use of the oxygen masks and the lifevests. Next to her Cole leant toward her.

"Afraid of flying, Paige?" She smacked him in the arm with her card and raised her chin slightly.

"Just heights." She informed him with a certain sharpness in her voice that could cut through glass.

"Mhmm. You know what I never got about planes? Why they install emergency exits when you're 30,000 feet in the air. Where's the logic in that?"

"Shut up, Cole."

He smirked in response and concentrated back on his magazine. He was glad he'd brought it and his book, because this was going to be a long flight.

***

"Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. I would like to announce that we'll be landing shortly on Miami International Airport. Please turn of all electrical devices and fasten your seatbelts. Also may we please ask you to remain seated until the aircraft has come to a full stop and the seatbelt signs have turned off. The temperature outside is 32 degrees and we hope that you'll enjoy your stay here in Florida. Thank you for flying with United Airlines." Cole looked up as the overhead lights were turned off and the plane shook lightly. He put down his book and looked over at the seat next to him, in which Paige was still asleep. Her head was resting on his shoulder and the blanket that had been covering her earlier had slid down to her knees.

A little reluctant, Cole pulled the blanket back up to her waist and touched her elbow. She didn't move.

"Paige.."

"Speak up dear, your wife won't hear you this way." He looked at the woman in the lilac dress, who pushed her book into the patent purple bag on her lap.

"She's not my wife." Maybe a little too quick with his response, because the old lady smiled, a sparkle of amusement in her eyes.

"Well you two sure sound like a married couple. I should know, until my Marty died four years ago we couldn't stop bickering either. Now I miss him like crazy." She showed him a picture of a tiny old man with glasses. Cole gave her his best friendly smile.

"I'm sorry." The widow nodded and Cole turned back to Paige, touching her elbow again and raising his voice a little.

"Paige. Wake up. C'mon, we're about to land."

"Mmm, yeah and I'm gonna send your ass straight back home." She mumbled in response as she sat up straight and rubbed the sleep from her eyes.

"Yeah whatever, look out the window. It's a great view." He said, never having forgotten that she was afraid of heights, and smirking at the foul look she gave him. He was starting to consider not going back home, irritating her was way too satisfying.

***

''Oomph." Paige rubbed her lower back after she'd retrieved her suitcase from the luggage belt and set it down on the floor. Cole had long since collected his own and was pretending as if he were busy, but she knew better than that. He was simply too lazy to help her. Either that or he just enjoyed annoying her. As she passed him by, she elbowed him purposely in the ribs and lead the way to the glass sliding doors that would allow them access to the arrival gates.

"When we get to the main hall, I will get your ticket altered so you can fly back tonight. That's all I'm paying for." Her heels ticked across the tile floor when they walked through the sliding doors. There behind the line were people waiting for the other passengers of their flight. She wanted to get through the crowd as quickly as possible, but Cole tapped her on the shoulder and she paused to look at him.

"What?"

"They're calling your name." He pointed in the direction of three women that came hurrying towards them. Two of them which Paige recognised, the third she didn't. She groaned inwardly and considered telling Cole to walk away quickly. Too late, they'd seen her with him.

"Paige, dear. Surprise!" Her aunt smiled and opened her arms for a big hug, which the brunette reluctantly accepted. Her cousin was next and meanwhile she was introduced to the third woman, apparently her cousin's best friend. She definitely had not seen this coming, she was supposed to meet them at the beach house.

"Paige! I'm so glad you could be here for my wedding. Who is this hunky man you've brought with you?" While they'd been greeting each other Cole had remained on the background a little, but at the mentioning of his appearence he looked up before glancing at Paige with a questioning look. Go through with their plans or not? She looked back and rolled her eyes slightly before she grasped his arm and put on her best smile.

"Aunt Marcy, Claire, Nicole. This is my boyfriend, Cole."


	2. Chapter 2

Just a little note. In the first chapter I described the temperature down in Miami to be 32 degrees. That was supposed to be in centigrades. Clearly 32 degrees Fahrenheit would be way too cold. (:

So now without much further ado...

**

* * *

02.**

Cole Turner blew out a low whistle as he opened the doors to the balcony of the beach house. They'd arrived at the beach fifteen minutes earlier and after some brief introductions, they'd been told to take their stuff up to _their _bedroom. The one that the two of them would be sharing for a week.

"You never told me your family's rich." He said as he stepped out into the sun and looked at the blue sea in front of him. He was greeted by the sound of sea gulls and a salty breeze that moved the curtains inside.

"They're not. Not really, they bought this house with the family fund. And by the way, I'm calling the bed."

"Where am I supposed to sleep?" The man turned around and made his way back into the bedroom where Paige had begun unpacking her suitcase. The bed was littered with dresses, tops and shoes and his own suitcase had been placed unceremoniously on the floor.

"Couch, chair, floor. There are enough options. And being who you are, I'm sure you've slept in worse places." All she got in response was a growl from Cole, who picked up his suitcase and dragged it over to the couch. They unpacked in silence until they noticed it was almost time for dinner.

***

"You know if we're really going to do this, then we're going to have to be nice to each other. So I suggest we forget about the past and start over. Pretend like we've only just met." Cole said while he picked an appropriate shirt for dinner at the local beach hut. He reached for a white one and glanced over at the bathroom where the door was slightly ajar. He only caught a glimse of Paige's appearance before she shut the door.

"Easy for you to say I never - " He didn't give her the chance to finish her sentence, knowing what she was about to say.

"Hey, I tried to kill you, you killed me, I'd say we're even." The bathroom door cracked open while he buttoned his shirt up. The sheets on the bed wooshed when he sat down on them to put on his shoes, and he leant over to tie his shoelaces when she walked past him to find a pair of shoes herself. He looked up slightly and was greeted by a pair of feet that lead to her bare legs. Shapely, smooth and seemingly never ending long legs. Just as he began to think that she wasn't wearing anything at all, her legs gave way to a short green dress that hugged her curves in all the right places.

"Where did you say you put my flipflops?" She turned around and he caught himself just in time to stop staring.

"I – uh. On the chair."

"Thanks. You need any help tying those shoelaces, Cole?" She asked sweetly and with a knowing smile.

***

He looked up when the sound of her laughter joined the squealing of the sea gulls in the air. She was chasing one of her younger cousins across the beach, bottle of water in her hand, flipflops long forgotten in the sand. How she could keep up this running when all of them had just filled up their bellies with an incredible meal, was a miracle to him. He himself was holding back a little, enjoying the gentle sea breeze and the warm evening sun shining down on them.

Most of her family were talking animatedly, catching up, telling stories and mentioning names that meant nothing to him at all. The younger cousin, Sam, he believed his name was, was now running around the group in circles with Paige still on his tail. Cole wasn't paying much attention to it until he felt a cold splash of water hit him in the back of his neck. He froze on the spot and heard Paige's laughter behind him.

"Oh God, Cole. I'm so sorry, I wasn't aiming for you." He turned to find her standing behind him, hair a mess and a hand covering her mouth. There was a sparkle in her eyes that he hadn't seen before.

"What are you waiting for, Cole? Go get her." Sam called out and both Cole and Paige looked over at him before looking back at each other. Paige was a tad too late realising what Cole was about to do and before she knew it he had scooped her up in his arms and was trudging toward the sea in a determined pace.

"Cole, what the hell do you think you're doing? Put me down." She was wriggling in his arms, trying to get out, but he was a lot stronger than she was.

"Hey, you started this. You wanna make it seem like we're a couple madly in love? That's exactly what I'm doing." He only slowed when he felt the first waves roll over his feet. The squealing of the sea gull's above them only seemed to increase as Paige continued her struggle against his muscular arms. It were all futile attempts and as soon as he was standing knee deep in the sea, the waves barely missing his khaki's, he stopped and looked at her.

"Cole, I swear, if you drop me..."

"Then what Paige?" He asked, his tone as innocent as possible and ignoring the encouraging shouts from her family fifty yards away on the beach.

"Then I'll...." The rest of her sentence was lost in her gasp as he released his strong hold on her and dropped her in the water. Behind him her family whistled and laughed whole heartedly and he smirked, folding his arms and stepping back slowly as she stood up, her dress soaked and her hair even more of a mess than it had been before.

"Cole..."

"What?" By now he was holding up his hands in mock surrender and making his way back up to the beach, all the while still facing her. She pulled up her dress and followed his example, eyes blazing fury. He glanced over at the family and realised, two seconds later, that looking away was in fact a huge mistake. The two went tumbling down into the sand and it wasn't until Paige sat up that they became aware of their compromising position. Legs were on either side of him and her hands were resting on his chest, which was still heaving from their tumble into the sand. Seconds passed, seeming more like minutes to them as they looked at each other.

Then, slowly but surely, Paige started to register her aunt's and younger cousin, Sam's, pleads for them to kiss.

In stead, she moved of off him and got to her feet, not bothering to help him up. Cole watched her go and heard her reply to their pleas.

"He's not getting any kisses from me now. That'll teach him for dropping me in the sea."

***

"No, Piper, the weather's great. Are you sure that's what they said?" There was a short silence in which Paige listened to her sister's response on the other end of the line.

"Okay well, I'll make sure to remember to close the window then. How are Chris and Wyatt, missing me yet?"

Cole stepped out of the bathroom wearing nothing but his boxers, having completely gotten ready for bed. Paige was standing by the window talking on the phone. Her hand played with the curtains and she pushed herself onto tiptoes before walking to the other curtain and moving it out of the way to close the door to the balcony.

"Okay, tell them I miss them too, I have to go now, but I'll let you know about... you know, everything." The curtains were closed now and the only light came from the lamp on the bedside cabinet.

"Okay, bye, tell everyone I said hi." With those last words she flipped her phone shut and tossed it onto the bed.

"What was that about the weather?" Cole asked as he climbed onto the couch, pulling the blanket up to his chest and leaving his toes exposed. For a moment he frowned at that, then figured he was too tall. It didn't matter, Florida was probably too warm for a blanket at this time of the year anyway. His bare toes earned a slight giggle from Paige who'd climbed into the bed.

"You look ridiculous you know? And according to Piper they're expecting a storm in South Florida. I wouldn't worry too much though, the sky is still clear." She pulled the covers up to her chest and moved around until she found a comfortable position. Cole observed her for a moment and shook his head.

"You are the reason for me looking ridiculous. That is a king-size bed and you're selfish enough to keep it all to yourself." He laid his head back down on the pillow, a lot of movement coming from the bed, however, caught his attention and he looked over at Paige who'd sat up. She swiftly swung the covers next to her back and looked at him, raising an eyebrow.

"What?" Cole said, genuinely not understanding what she meant.

"Stick to your side." She started while lining up a couple of throw pillows in the middle of the bed.

"And no monkey-business. Because I will kick your ass." With a final sigh she lay back down on rolled onto her side, facing away from him. A slow grin made itsself known on the demon's handsome features as he got to his feet and walked over to the bed, all the while shaking his head. Maybe she wasn't so bad after all.


	3. Chapter 3

_Sorry it took so long for me to update! I had the chapter ready, I just kept forgetting to upload it._ _The next chapter will, hopefully, be up sooner. _

**03.**

The second clap of thunder was what startled her awake, causing her to sit up straight in bed. The covers fell to her waist and her chest was heaving, small drops of sweat covering her body. Not just because of the heat, but because of the nightmare she was having before the thunder woke her up.

A bright flash of light illuminated the room for a second, before it turned back to dark, immediately followed by more threatening thunder. It seemed Piper had been right about that storm.

Next to her Cole moved and a small yelp left her lips, having completely forgotten about him. That was right, he was here too, in the same bed, very close to her, very topless. The sheets had inched down to his waist, revealing a little bit of his dark boxers. He was lying on his back, one hand resting on his stomach, the other by his side. If she thought about it, he actually looked like any other man this way. Asleep and not annoying her until it drove her mad.

As if on cue Cole moved, a low sound emitting from his throat. Paige quickly averted her gaze when she noticed he began to wake up and ran a hand through her hair. Outside the rumbling in the sky continued.

"Hhmmph. I hate thunderstorms." He muttered, keeping his voice low. The deepness of his voice, though, made it almost impossible for him to whisper. A feature about men that she'd always considered to be attractive. This man was definitely not supposed to make her think of his voice in such a way.

"You're not the only one." She told him quietly and moved to lie back down. She heard him shift around and felt his eyes looking at her, watching her. Now fully awake.

"You okay? You're not scared of them are you?" He sounded genuinely concerned there for a second and she sighed, softly shaking her head.

"No. But the first night after my parents.... there was a thunderstorm.. and I've developed a particular dislike towards them since then." She smiled slightly, having no idea why she was telling him this. He kept quiet, so she continued.

"This place brings back a lot of memories, you know. I'm glad I've stopped ignoring this side of my family. I'm glad my uncle Marc never gave up trying to contact me."

"Paige." She looked over at him upon hearing her name. He was still watching her and his hand was now supporting his head. He sighed and for the first time since she'd seen him on the airplane, she noticed how tired he looked. Bags had formed under his eyes and his was blinking as though he wanted to stop his eyes from closing.

"Get some sleep. If you want you can tell me all about it over breakfast tomorrow and I'll listen if you need me to, but right now we need our rest. Tomorrow's going to be a busy day." There was that voice again, deep and low. Was it just her or had his voice just dropped an octave?

"Cole?"

"Yeah?" Even lower.

"Why are you being nice to me?"

"Because you let me sleep in the bed." He said simply and rolled onto his belly, his arm under his pillow.

"Night, Paige." Finally his eyes drifted shut and she smiled a little, settling back down as well.

"Night, Cole."

***

Sunlight slowly creeped through the curtains onto the bed, when her sleeping form was still hidden under crisp white sheets. His side of the bed had long been made and he'd been sitting in the chair, showered and fully dressed, for over ten minutes. Just watching her sleep. She was lying on her side, knees drawn up to her chest and one arm thrown across one of the throw pillows in the middle of the bed. It was what had woken him up in the first place.

_It was his first good sleep in months. No dreams, no startling awake, no crappy beds, but a wonderfully soft and comfortable bed. In fact, he could sleep forever right here. But that was not going to happen. A soft pressure pushed into his side, and something slid across his abdomen. He moved slightly, hoping the feeling would disappear, but it didn't. Sighing, he forced his eyes to open and blinked a couple of times before his eyes adjusted to the morning light. It was still quiet out, not even a single sea gull could be heard. When he looked to his side, a pleasant smell invaded his nostrils. _

_Something fruity. _

_Peach. _

_It quickly became clear where the scent was coming from. Paige had crossed her make-shift ''line'' and had curled up to him, her arm slung across his stomach, cheek resting on his chest. It almost made him smile, until he realised that she was _Paige_, and he carefully moved her arm off of him. _

_She barely moved, only let a soft sigh escape her lips before rolling onto her belly and cuddling a pillow in stead. She muttered something, quietly. Inaudible to him. Hair fell in front of her face, hiding her closed eyes from his sight. For just a second his fingers tingled to reach out and push that strand of hair, which looked so much like chocolate it was incredible, behind her ear, but he restrained himself. _

_In stead, he pulled his body into a sitting position and swung his legs over the side of the bed. As his toes touched the cool floor, his eyes took a glance at the alarm clock. 6.45 AM. Time for a long relaxing shower. _

A beeping sound pulled him out of his reverie. A hand shot out from under the sheets and hit the alarm clock, effectively cutting off the beeping. A groan followed with more skin exposure as Paige pushed away the sheets. Quickly, Cole rose to his feet, not wanting to get caught watching her. His made his way out of the room and downstairs to see if he could be of any help preparing breakfast.

***

When she walked into the kitchen twenty minutes later, she was surprised by the sight of Cole and several of her family members preparing a big breakfast. Her aunt was setting the table, humming softly to the music that came from the radio's speakers. Her uncle was chopping tomatoes while Cole was behind the stove, baking eggs and bacon. Her cousin, who was standing by the coffee machine, was the first to notice her.

"Morning, Paige! Did you sleep well? You know your boyfriend makes one hell of a cook, it smells so good."

"Hi. Yeah, apart from the storm." She gave her aunt a smile and noticed the grin on Cole's face at her cousin's compliment before he turned to her, spatula still in his hand.

"Good morning, beautiful." Before she knew what he was doing he'd made his way over to her and planted a kiss on her cheek. For a second she thought about slapping him, but then she smelled his rather pleasant aftershave and remembered that they were supposed to act in love.

"Hi." It sounded more like a sigh than her actual voice. Her uncle waggled his eyebrows in a meaningful manner. She shook her head slightly in response. Cole didn't notice.

Fifteen minutes later they were all sitting around the breakfast table. She was chewing thoughfully on her cracker while observing the man across from her. He was having a conversation with her cousin, Sam, listening intently to his stories about the hottest girl from his school who was – apparently – into him. Her head cocked to the side slightly as he took a bite from is apple, smiling when Sam said something amusing. An elbow in her side pulled her from her daydream.

"I bet he's a great kisser, isn't he? And look at those hands, large and rough, he must be a God send in bed. Not that I have anything to complain, I mean Dave is great in the sack and he's not bad looking at all, but, My God."

Claire's comment earnt a slight giggle from her, and it caused a small tingle in her stomach. She was putting Cole in a perspective she'd never even considered and she had to admit. That deep down she began to think her cousin was right. He was a handsome man. Nice facial features and a well-structured body. Not to mention his piercing blue eyes that made her feel as if he could look straight through her. She'd always felt that, even when he was still with Phoebe she'd sometimes caught him looking at her with an intense look in those blue eyes. Back then she'd been sure he was cooking up another plan to hurt her. Now she wasn't so sure about that.

"Well? Is he?"

"Is he what?"

"A good kisser?" Paige looked at Claire who seemed more than curious to find out.

"Oh. Yeah, very talented." Her answer was vague, but her cousin decided to let it rest. Paige seemed way too busy watching her boyfriend and she knew that look. It was the exact same look she had when Dave had been teasing her and left her wanting more.

***

"Paige, Oh My God, I think I'm gonna have to cut you out of the wedding. You look gorgeous."

She turned in front of the mirror, smoothing her hands down the soft satin of her bridesmaid dress. Floor length, strapless and a deep blue colour. It suited her dark hair and all she needed was a pair of high heels to finish off the look. Her cousin was peeking around her own dressing room curtain, holding her breath as her mother tightened the corset around her body which she needed to make her wedding dress look even better.

"It's really nice. I was afraid for a second that you picked these horrible dresses so only you would look good. But these are really, _really, _nice. I bet it looks good on everyone."

"It does." Her cousin stepped outside when the store's owner came in carrying a wedding dress. Paige watched as she and her mother helped Claire to put it on. As she turned to the mirror, Paige heard herself gasp for breath.

"Wow, Claire."

A wide grin was on Claire's face, ear to ear. She made several turns. And came to the same conclusion as Paige.

"It's perfect now. No more adjusting."

"Dave's gonna want to jump on you from the moment you walk into that church, however inappropriate that is."

"Paige." A laugh from her cousin, her aunt cleared her throat.

"What? Your mom knows you two are not exactly innocent." She shot a grin at her aunt and stepped back inside her dressing room to get out of her dress. The owner then turned to Paige.

"Take some off the length, dear? Even in heels it'll drag across the floor a little, which would be a shame." She'd already popped out her needles and pins before Paige could nod her head.


	4. Chapter 4

I am sooo sorry it took me so long to update. I've had this finished for ages, but Uni is a lot more work than I thought! I hope you will all enjoy this chapter :)

**04.**

"So, eight months right? You think she's the one?"

"Paige? Yeah, I don't know. I mean she's great." Cole looked to the left and then to the right before they crossed the busy streat and ran onto the other side of the boulevard. They'd been running for fifteen minutes and his T-shirt was already beginning to stick to his chest. With this heat though, it was no surprise.

"I imagine she is, she seems like a very lively girl. And really friendly."

"Right." Friendly. After she'd vanquished him. Twice.

"But?" Dave refused to drop the subject.

"But, I'm not sure. I've been married before, it ended badly. I don't know if I want to get married again,"

"even though, she really is an amazing woman." He added quickly when Dave raised an eyebrow. When he'd asked him to join him for a run, he'd not been expecting this kind of interrogation. Sure it was putting Paige in a different kind of daylight for him. During their two days here he'd slowly begun to respect her a little bit more. The fact that she'd chosen to introduce him as her boyfriend anyway, and let him sleep in the same bed as him, had surprised, but also pleased him. Maybe she wasn't so bad after all. And now that he wasn't with Phoebe anymore, and wanted to start over, maybe, _maybe,_ they could be friends. They were even anyway.

"Uhuh. Race you to the beach?"

Cole smirked.

"It's on." And took off.

***

"Where would you go?"

He re-opened his eyes after he'd allowed to fall them shut 10 seconds earlier. It was hot, the sheets were sticking to his body and he was tired. Yet Paige had apparently decided to make conversation when it was almost midnight.

"What?" Was he supposed to know what her question was about?

"On honeymoon. Where'd you go?"

Right. That came out of nowhere.

"I've been on a honeymoon, remember? With Phoebe. To Hawaii."

"But if you could go again? Hawaii seems so... not creative." He felt her move next to him and figured she'd shifted onto her side, her elbow probably propped up on the pillow, hand supporting her head.

"Not creative?" He moved a little himself.

"Yeah, a lot of people go there. I think I'd go to..." She went quiet as she thought about it. Where would she go? Somewhere warm, that was for sure. But something special.

"Goa." She said, decisively.

"India? Why?"

"Different culture. Warm weather. Nice beaches."

"Hmm." He was closing his eyes again and moved, trying to find a cooler spot on the mattress.

"I'd go to Italy." He confessed, figuring it was creative enough. He'd go to see Venice. Or Rome. Or Pisa. So many options.

"Why?"

"Different culture. Warm weather. Nice beaches." His response made her laugh a little and he smiled. Felt her move again. Her foot touched his, they both moved it quickly.

"Cole?" She sighed.

"Mmm?"

"Thanks for working with me on this. I know we've had our past, but I didn't think you be so nice to acutually go through with it."

"Surprise." He whispered lamely, in that same deep voice as the night before. Except it sounded a lot more exhausted. It had been a long day.

"Yeh. Go to sleep, I'm keeping you up, sorry. I'll shut up."

"'s okay."

"So are you coming to that club tomorrow night? Dave said there's a nice clubbing scene here."

"Paige.." He was rolling onto his stomach, pulling the sheets up a little more and laying his head back down on his pillow.

"What?"

"Yes I am, now sleep. Please?"

"Sorry."

***

"Paige, Claire, come on! We've been waiting for over thirty minutes!" Cole sighed as he called them for the second time. Their taxi's were waiting, everybody was sitting in them and ready to go, except for those two slow women. Why women always needed so much time to get ready, he didn't know. And even if they did he couldn't understand why it didn't just occur to them to begin changing earlier. That way the cabs wouldn't have to wait, meters running.

No answer. He inhaled deeply.

"Pai -"

"Chill, take a pill. We're ready." The young brunette quipped as she and her soon-to-be-married cousin appeared at the top of the stairs. The man trailed off and felt his breath catch in his throat. Both women looked almost equally beautiful, but if he had to choose, Paige was definitely number one.

A short, strapless black dress, her hair loose in curls, black stiletto's and golden hoops in her ears to top it off. Simple. Yet absolutely stunning, and Cole had to do all he could to try and refrain from staring at her long legs. And the way her hips swayed while she made her way down the stairs.

"Well? Come on." The two women were already out the door, giggling over something one of them had apparently said.

***

"Man, how come, that after your what, seventh whiskey you're still not even the slightest bit tipsy?" An arm was draped around his shoulders and a body was leaning heavily on him. It was clear that this person, who turned out to be Dave, was, in fact, tipsy. Very tipsy.

"It's because I can hold my liqiour." Cole told him, rather matter-of-factly. He wasn't trying to sound smart, because it was true. The fact that he had more than just a few years on the future groom was helpful as well. He could drink as much as he wanted to, and even then he'd only feel a slight tingle in the tips of his fingers. Maybe his speech wasn't quite as accurate and he had some difficulty walking straight, but he'd still be able to think clearly. He'd know when to start drinking water.

"You're goooood. Oh. And by the way, mate, there are people, as in men, as in young men, hitting on your girlfriend." The arm left his shoulders and with that also did Dave's weight as he stumbled in the direction of the men's room.

_Young men?_ Cole thought, feeling slightly offended. He knew he was older. But he'd never thought of himself as _old_. He shifted on his barstool and looked over his shoulder to find Paige swaying her hips on the dancefloor. Several guys were not so subtly checking her out. One of them had not so subtly moved behind her, his hands out, ready to place them on her hips. He may have been young, be was certainly not - Cole mulled over the appropriate term for a second – boyfriend material.

At that exact moment Paige looked over at him, her eyes widening. He raised his eyebrow in response and she answered by moving her lips. They formed a word all too familiar to him. Help. The guy behind her moved in closer and laid his hands on her hips. She was biting her lip by now, but within seconds Cole was by her side, puffing out his chest and staring the boy behind her down.

He didn't need to speak a word.

The boy stopped moving and pulled his hands away from her as if he'd been stung by a bee. Or a jellyfish. They hurt more. A lot more. He muttered an apology that was inaudible over the loud music, but Cole guessed it by the guilty look in his eyes, before he walked off with his tail between his legs.

"Impressive. You know I always try to stare them down, but it never works. They're so persistent."

"Always worked for me. You can give some dirty looks. Anyway, you're welcome. Now if you'll excuse me.." He was about to make his way back to his vacant barstool when she put her hand on his arm. His eyes went back to her. Questioning.

"You're here now, you might as well dance."

That made him laugh.

"Paige, I can't dance to save my life. Salsa or anything else that's ballroom, yeah, in a club? No way." he turned to leave again. This time she placed her hands on his chest. Flashed him her most gorgeous smile.

"Come on. It's not hard. Just.. sway your hips to the rhythm. If you can dance the salsa you must have some rhythm." Her hands slid down and he held his breath, for a moment he wondered what the hell she was doing. Then the came to rest on his hips. Lay still there. He copied her, if maybe a little reluctant, by placing his own hands on her hips.

"Now move like this." Her feet shuffled to the music and her hips joined in. It took him several attempts before he started to get the hang of it. A smile pulled at the corners of his mouth.

"See? I told you. It's easy. And thanks for.. -"

"Paige!" They both looked up to find Claire standing next to them, drink in her hand, huge smile plastered to her face.

"You have been here three days and I've not once seen you two kiss! It's ridiculous." Yep. She was drunk. No doubt about it.

Cole had felt his eyes widen at Claire's remark and Paige had noticed. She did a lame attempted to save their asses.

"We just like our privacy."

"Oh shut up, I know you better than that Pairge. Come on, give each other a kiss. For me?" To put extra emphasis on her comment, Claire gently shoved Paige in the direction of her pretend-boyfriend. They were looking at each other. Paige mouthed a sorry which Claire never noticed. Cole shrugged his shoulders and dipped his head, giving her a quick peck on the lips.

"There." He said, smiling proudly. Paige turned to her cousin, her smile matching Cole's. He moved his arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer.

"Oh come on!" Her cousin spilled her drink as she threw her hands in the air in disbelief.

"What?" Both of them. Innocent.

"That wasn't a kiss! Come on. Cole, show her what you got. Do it, for me? As an early wedding gift? Please?" She was batting her eyes and smiling in a way that he found difficult to resist. He was even considering giving in to her pleading, but someone else beat him to it.

"Okay. If you stop whining." It was Paige. He looked down at her and she turned to face him again, her eyes looking up at him, subtly raising an eyebrow. Daring him. He was the kind of man that would never back out of a dare. His hands found her hips and he dipped his head. Slowly, so it gave her the chance to move away if she changed her mind. She didn't and met him the last ten per cent of the way, pressing her lips against his softly.

For a while they stayed like that, but then he surprised her by running his tongue slowly and maybe a little hesitant along her upper lip. Before she had the chance to think twice about it, she opened her mouth to his and their kiss deepened.

Next to them Claire was almost jumping up and down with excitement, more over her drink spilling over the rim of the glass. Both Paige and Cole barely noticed. And it wasn't until after a couple of minutes – when Claire had become bored and left – that Paige pulled away, bringing her fingers to her swollen lips. Brown eyes met blue. Something changed.


End file.
